South of Sunnyside

I really want to do it. I’ve been saying I would, and that this was the year. Yet, the only thing growing in my back yard is some strange combination of grass and weeds. Oh, and black widows—those seem to grow big there.

I keep letting my nerves come between me and a garden. I have to move sprinklers around, and build a fence (the labor isn’t an issue, but understanding the mechanics of sprinklers is). I have to build beds. And get soil. And fertilize. And water. And seed. And eat—but that’s the good part.

Surely, there’s a gardening book for dummies, right? One that embraces the unique climate of the Central Valley? One that provides an estimated cost for all that’s needed?

Tonight I came home to a pleasant surprise: the two foreclosed properties adjacent to ours donned freshly-mowed lawns. And Kim didn’t have to do the work. It seems the investor that purchased the homes from the bank decided it was time to take care of them.

Rumor has it that one of the houses, along with another one on the north side, are up for sale. Not that the value of our home matters much anymore (we don’t mind paying two mortgages on the original amount…at all), but these properties are discounted about $150,000, compared to the purchase prices just three years ago.

Of course, if these two houses sell (and that’s a big if), as of the first of the month there are two newly-abandoned homes to take their place.

Before throwing his name in the hat for the 2008 presidential race, Rudy Giuliani was chief executive of one of the country’s largest cities. From his two terms as mayor of New York City (1994 – 2001), Giuliani is credited with “initiating improvements in the city’s quality of life and with a reduction in crime” (Wikipedia).

Though Giuliani’s success as a leader may be at least partially credited to factors beyond his control (such as a national drop in crime rates), his adoption of the Broken Windows Theory addressed more than specific criminal actions; he arguably addressed the psychological and sociological effects of financial and physical marginalization.

From Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point:

Broken Windows was the brainchild of the criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. Wilson and Kelling argued that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes.

Fresno’s windows aren’t broken—they’re boarded. And those that aren’t covered up look out onto neglected properties, complete with dead (or dying) grass, wilted shrubs and trees, and an eery (and depressing) feeling of abandonment.

Certainly, irresponsible homeowners and banks play a significant role in the foreclosure crisis, but a house is part of a neighborhood, which is part of a greater community. We’re in this together, and in many ways we’re all to blame; if that seems a bit of a stretch, consider the lines of credit, based solely on equity, that rapidly inflated home prices here in the Valley just a few years back.

Homeowners who’ve weathered the storm (especially those in newer neighborhoods) are reminded of the economy’s uncertainty every time they—okay, we—leave the house and pass by a yellow lawn. So, how do we fix the windows?

I finally broke down. I just can’t take it any longer.

On Saturday morning, a man by the name of Jose will come to look at our yard. He comes highly recommended, and we have hopes that he’ll transform our back yard from a weed-infested, patchy jungle, into a paradise. Or at least something more than what it is (which shouldn’t take much).

The machismo inside of me holds strong; it’s taken me three years to give in/up, but I know that the decision to outsource will ultimately benefit the marriage. Yeah, that’s it—I’m doing it for Kim.